Methamphetamine, specifically high purity crystal
methamphetamine, poses a serious illicit drug threat to Guam. Authorities report
that crystal methamphetamine abuse has increased on Guam during the past decade.
Half of the individuals admitted for substance abuse treatment in 1997 and 1998
(the most recent data available) were methamphetamine users. The increase in
abuse of the drug is attributed to multiple factors including its ready
availability, low cost (less than heroin or cocaine), and the duration of its
euphoric effects, which can last 12 hours or more--considerably longer than the
effects associated with many other illicit drugs. Crystal methamphetamine is
often called poor man's cocaine due to its relatively low cost and similar
effects.

Crystal Methamphetamine

Crystal methamphetamine is a colorless, odorless, smokable form of
d-methamphetamine resembling glass fragments or ice shavings. Its production (a
process of crystallizing powdered methamphetamine) and distribution typically
are associated with Asian traffickers.

On Guam crystal methamphetamine is known as shabu and typically is smoked in
a glass pipe or glass vial. Users heat the glass pipe or vial with a lighter and
inhale the methamphetamine vapors.

The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (DMHSA) and law
enforcement officials report that crystal methamphetamine abuse is evident
throughout Guam's population. Methamphetamine abuse spans all ethnic, cultural,
and age groups--some abusers are as young as 12. Of the students in grades 7
through 12 who completed a 1999 drug use survey conducted by DMHSA, more than 7
percent reported having used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime.

Crystal methamphetamine is readily available on Guam in gram to kilogram
quantities because of a steady supply of the drug from the Philippines as well
as from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. The Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) reports that the price of crystal methamphetamine at the
retail level--while still high by mainland standards--decreased during the past
few years. The price of 1 gram of crystal methamphetamine decreased from a range
of $600 to $1,000 in fiscal year (FY) 1999 to $250 to $500 in FY2000 and FY2001,
according to DEA. Ounce prices for crystal methamphetamine remained stable at
around $8,000 from FY1999 through FY2001, and kilogram prices ranged from
$180,000 to $200,000 during
that period. Purity ranged from 97 to 100 percent.

The significance of the methamphetamine problem on Guam is reflected in the
number of drug-related arrests and the number of drug samples submitted to
laboratories for analysis. Methamphetamine-related arrests increased from 47 in
1994 to 333 in 1999. In 1999 methamphetamine-related arrests constituted nearly
75 percent of the 447 adult drug-related arrests in the territory. Of the 558
drug samples submitted to the Guam Police Department Crime Laboratory by all law
enforcement agencies in 1999, 335 were analyzed as methamphetamine. In addition,
the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency (CQA) seized 7,423.22 grams of
amphetamines in 2001, more than any other drug that year and an increase from
3,994 grams seized in 2000.

The Guam CQA conducts more investigations related to amphetamines than to any
other drug type except marijuana. In 2001, the agency conducted 12
amphetamine-related investigations, which represented 17 percent of all
investigations conducted. In 2000, the agency conducted 26 amphetamine-related
investigations, which represented 15 percent of all investigations conducted.

Methamphetamine accounts for the majority of drug-related federal sentences
on Guam. Each year from FY1997 through FY2001, methamphetamine-related federal
sentences constituted over 90 percent of all drug-related federal sentences on
Guam, according to U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) data. Of the 188
drug-related federal sentences during this period, 178 were
methamphetamine-related. During the same period methamphetamine-related federal
sentences nationwide accounted for a much smaller percentage. (See Table
1.)

Guam law enforcement authorities believe that the increase in
drug abuse and distribution, most of which is related to crystal
methamphetamine, has contributed to rising levels of violent crime. The number
of robberies involving the use of a firearm increased 228 percent, from 32 in
1990 to 105 in 1998--the most recent year for which data are available. Since
January 1993 Guam Police Department officers have seized over 75 firearms and 10
hand grenades in drug-related incidents. Authorities, through undercover drug
purchases, have confiscated additional firearms from drug distributors. Law
enforcement authorities believe that crystal methamphetamine abuse also has
contributed substantially to increases in domestic violence.

Arrestees Linked to String of Violent Crimes

In February 2002 seven individuals were arrested in connection with five
robberies and a burglary. One of the arrestees was charged with attempted murder
for committing a shooting during one of the robberies. In one of the robberies
approximately 25 guns were stolen from a local shooting range; the thieves later
exchanged many of the guns for crystal methamphetamine. During the execution of
a search warrant at the residence of one of the arrestees, local police officers
seized bullets and 19 packets of crystal methamphetamine with an estimated
street value of $3,000.

Source: Guam Police Department.

There is no evidence to suggest that crystal methamphetamine is
produced on Guam. The Philippines, which serves as both a production and
transshipment area, remains the main source of the crystal methamphetamine
available on Guam; however, the drug also is produced in and transported from
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. DEA reports that the transportation
of crystal methamphetamine from these locations is increasing; however, as of
the second quarter of FY2002, there had not been any recent significant seizures
of crystal methamphetamine being transported from these countries. According to
DEA, Asian organized crime groups are suspected of transporting multikilogram
quantities of crystal methamphetamine to Guam from Hong Kong, and smaller
quantities from other Asian countries.

Crystal Methamphetamine Seized

On November 30, 2000, agents from the DEA Guam Resident Office and the Guam
Customs and Quarantine Agency seized 2.65 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine
that had been smuggled via commercial airlines from the Philippines. The agents
arrested a Guamanian national and an Italian national following the seizure.

Source: DEA.

The primary means by which crystal methamphetamine is transported to Guam is
by couriers or "mules" bodycarrying the drug on commercial airline
flights. The drug often is wrapped in duct tape and plastic, smeared with a
topical analgesic to evade canine detection, and strapped to the body with
gauze. Couriers transport 1 to 6 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine per trip.
Other methods by which crystal methamphetamine is transported to Guam include
shipment in U.S. mail, express service parcels such as FedEx and UPS,
concealment in air and sea cargo, and smuggling by private vessels operating
between Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Direct airline flights from the Philippines to Guam provide distributors on
Guam with easy access to crystal methamphetamine suppliers in the Philippines.
In addition, in April 2000 an Asian airline expanded service by opening a new
route from Taipei to Guam, providing a direct connection to suppliers in Taiwan.
Crystal methamphetamine transporters also transship the drug via commercial
airlines through Saipan, the capital city of the CNMI, en route to markets on
Guam, Hawaii, and other locations in the Pacific, according to law enforcement
authorities in the CNMI.

Figure 1. Methamphetamine transportation from the Philippines,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and South Korea to Guam.

Limited quantities of methamphetamine also are transported into
Guam via package delivery services. U.S. Customs Service (USCS) officials on
Guam report that the Korean and Japanese criminal groups that employ this method
of transportation are becoming increasingly sophisticated. These criminal groups
ship liquid methamphetamine in medicine bottles, liquor bottles, and canned
goods, all of which appear to be factory-sealed. USCS also reports that packages
sometimes are sent from the Philippines to European countries where they are
repackaged and sent to Guam so that they do not appear to have been shipped from
a known methamphetamine source country.

Methamphetamine Smuggling

In early 2000 a joint investigation involving Guam and Hong Kong law
enforcement agencies resulted in the arrests of three individuals and the
seizure of more than 17 kilograms of methamphetamine that had been sent to Guam
from China via a package delivery service.

Source: DEA.

In 1999 two Philippine beauty pageant contestants were arrested in two
separate incidents for drug possession at the Guam International Air Terminal.
The first arrestee was carrying about 1 ounce of crystal methamphetamine in the
pendant on her necklace, and the second had crystal methamphetamine residue and
drug paraphernalia in her bag.

Source: Guam CQA.

Mexican criminal groups based in California occasionally transport crystal
methamphetamine to Guam. According to the DEA Guam Resident Office, in the
second quarter of FY2002 there were three significant seizures of crystal
methamphetamine on Guam totaling approximately 8 kilograms. The crystal
methamphetamine was transported via commercial airlines from two sources in
California.

Asian criminal groups dominate all levels of crystal methamphetamine
distribution on Guam. Wholesale distributors usually sell to individuals within
their own ethnic group; however, midlevel and retail distributors will sell to
those outside their own ethnic group. Midlevel distributors typically purchase
kilogram quantities of crystal methamphetamine; however, they occasionally
purchase 100- to 500-gram quantities.

Midlevel distributors frequently accept items of value instead of cash in
exchange for crystal methamphetamine. They provide gram quantities of crystal
methamphetamine to retailers in return for merchandise such as guns, television
sets, cars, collectible coins, stereos, and computers. In one case, a retail
distributor attempted to trade a pit bull for crystal methamphetamine.

Crystal methamphetamine is not cut with other substances at any level of
distribution; thus, purity remains very high. The drug typically is distributed
in clear straws or small plastic resealable bags called plates. A clear straw,
which is heat-sealed at both ends, contains 1 to 2 grams of crystal
methamphetamine. A plate is available in two sizes: 0.05 gram, which costs $50,
or 0.1 gram, which costs $100.